2/29/2012

People love to be praised and rewarded, it gives a great sense of satisfaction and achievement. Stickers and other complimentary motivation products are an effective and time efficient resource for any teacher to reinforce positive messages. Round, square, sparkly or smiley, they are great to give and even better to receive! Their benefit also goes beyond the immediate pleasure of being given one.

We live in a busy world, and it is often hard to find enough time to communicate with all of the people we need to, and when we do find time there's not always enough of it. School parents evenings give the opportunity for parents and teachers to talk about their child's progress, but on a day to day basis it is not possible to tell every parent of every child if they have done well in maths that day, been well behaved in class, or if they have homework or reading to do that night.

It's here that the sticker and other motivation products such as certificates, postcards and praise notes can help. By rewarding a child with a sticker you are not just showing the pupil that they've done a great piece of work or been really helpful that day, you're sending a message home which shows their parents or guardians that they have achieved something good and that you've recognised and rewarded them for it. They will be praised at home as well as at school and in turn this can help positive behaviour and effort in and out of the classroom. Stickers are also a great way to send messages home about homework or as a reminder, such as if someone has had a bump on the head.

Other motivation products such as charts and bookmarks, with spaces for stickers, date and/ or number of pages read, are also a great way to keep track of and reward a child for a specific task. If a child is given a book to read at school and home then they provide a great way to communicate to parents or guardians, teachers and the child the progress made. The student can be rewarded with a sticker for good reading and progress, and each time they go to read the book and see the bookmark, they will be reminded and motivated by what they have achieved.

Stickers and motivation products are certainly about rewarding good work, behaviour and giving reminders. Just as importantly they also help aid the communication between teachers, parents and children, helping everyone know what goes on on a daily and weekly basis and helping things to run a bit more smoothly. Long live the sticker!

2/26/2012

Decals are a great way to decorate your nursery- They add versatility and interest to the room, are relatively inexpensive, and highly flexible. As your children grow and develop, their changing tastes and interests can make nursery wall decals a fantastic alternative to repainting or repapering your walls. Here's how to get started:

Before You StartIf you have recently painted your nursery, try to wait at least a month before adding decals- letting the pain set fully will reduce the chance of the nursery decals pulling away patches later. Also, keep in mind that water-based paint provides the best surface for nursery wall decals. Bold colors may show through or interfere with complex patterns, so it's advisable to stay with light pastels.

Plan as much of the desired layout as possible, ahead of time. Check to see that nothing will obscure the decorations. Pay attention to the location of humidifiers or radiators, as damp and heat will affect the permanence of your nursery wall decals. Likewise, direct sunlight from skylights or windows can fade your decals and cause them to lose their adhesive properties.

Application
The first step in applying nursery decals is to make sure that the surfaces you're using are clean and dry. Remove any dust from the walls (or furniture) and wash thoroughly with a damp cloth, using a mild detergent solution. A quick swipe with rubbing alcohol before applying the decals will help remove any remaining oils, adhesive residue, or other substances. Also, be sure to test an out-of-the-way spot before applying cleaning solutions to reduce the risk of discoloration or damage.

Next, use masking or painter's tape to position the nursery decals. Painter's tape is highly recommended as it is designed to be surface-friendly. A level or ruler can assist your layout.

When you have your decals placed and aligned the way you want, lightly mark the transfer paper of each decal at the top edges, and place tape on the wall above them.

Turn a decal over and place it against a flat surface such as the wall or a table. Pull slowly from one corner to remove the backing paper. If the decal sticks to the backing paper, push the layers back together and press firmly, then try again.

Remove the transfer paper by rolling it slowly down over itself- do not pull it directly away from the wall, as this can cause the decal to separate from the wall.

2/22/2012

The wall decal is an underrated aspect of interior design. It shouldn't be because it is perhaps one of the quickest and easiest ways to fancifully decorate the interior of your home. Wall decals can open your imagination more than anything else because you can actually see what it looks like on your walls before you commit to it. As a bonus, if you don't like it after some time you can take it off without damaging any of woodwork. Wall decals, at the very least, gives you options. There are many designs to choose from like a floral decoration or maybe even a post-modern feng shui look. You can also combine looks to give your wall a little extra touch.

Visibility - Decide how visible you want the wall sticker to be. It you are proud of it and want people to take notice place it somewhere with high visibility like the living room on an adjacent wall from the television so there is more coverage. Essentially any place that does not have furniture near it will lend high visibility. If you don't care either way, place it where your heart desires.

Using Furniture - Use your furniture as a prop to the wall sticker. This can get creative and fun, too. Using furniture as a prop take a little more creative genius but there's nothing wrong with trying to tap that while looking for a wall sticker. Consider the color of your furniture, what message you're trying to convey and how "loud" you want the decal to be. Floral and sky designs work best with furniture like chairs and sofas. Vertical scenery works well near lamps and entertainment centers.

Use More than One - It's okay to buy more than one package that is more than one design. Create a story out of it and if anything else, get as crazy as you want because it's your creative genius at work. It doesn't even have to make sense. You can have Paris being overtaken by flowers or you can have a cat playing with a Disney character. The possibilities are endless.

2/20/2012

Look, we all understand how hard it is to decorate a home in a unique and eye catching manner. It seems that all the good ideas have already been taken by everybody else. Coming up with a fun design that makes your home unique can seem impossible. Well, I'm here to tell you that it is not an impossibility. Many people forget about one of the more interesting methods of interior decoration: wall. Wall can install and uninstall from your wall in a matter of seconds. Their matte vinyl finish is wonderfully rendered, making your walls look professionally designed.

Tree decals are... well, they're decals that look like trees. A tree wall decal can come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and colors. They can be rendered to look photo-realistically or cartoonish and amusing. Using a tree wall decal has many purposes that may not be immediately obvious. Any creative person can come up with a thousand great uses that go beyond anything I have to offer.

A Simple Christmas Tree DecorationPutting up a Christmas tree every year can be an exhausting and difficult process for many people. Even an artificial tree can be a strain for many people. They are definitely worth the effort but sometimes you don't want to go through the effort or want multiple trees.

A Christmas tree wall decal will go up on the walls in seconds and stay up all year. Take it down after Christmas is over, roll it up and store it for use later. People will always remember the year you put up a Christmas tree decal instead of a normal tree. Maybe it'll even catch on and spread in your neighborhood?

Creating a Jungle BedroomTree decals can also make excellent bedroom designs for children (or even the child in any adult). Pick out a series of wall that are united by the type of trees used. For example, using coconut trees helps turn the bedroom into a jungle bedroom. Using maple or evergreen trees helps turn the room into a thick, northern forest.

Try to find animal wall to hang on the walls. These will add an even stronger "naturalistic" flair to the bedroom, making it look even more like an exiting and wild forest. The nice thing about the decals is that they can be taken down quickly if you or your child get sick of them.Educational ToolKids often have to learn about various kinds of trees in school. Put up different types of these decals to help create a diverse forest in your home. Walk through the house with your kids and look at each tree wall decal. Name the type of tree represented by the tree wall decals. Point out ways you can tell the trees apart from other trees. Leave the trees decals up after your child has finished the exam.

2/15/2012

A kid's room must be decorated to set a positive mood of a child. A child can divert his or her attention to the funny decorative prints displayed on the room, including posters, wall clings and door hangers. Moreover, funny images in full color can entertain kids and can make them feel good.

Poster Prints for Fun and LearningPosters to be displayed on a kid's room must contain images that interest children. Examples of images to be included on the posters are superheroes, cartoon characters, and funny animals. In addition, posters must contain images and texts in which children can learn. It is also ideal to buy or create posters of the alphabets, beautiful images, counting numbers, or the color wheel.

Accentuate the Window with an Attractive Window ClingA colorful window cling can also add life to a child's room. It is natural for kids to play and have fun. With this fact, parents can buy or create fun and attractive window clings for their children's rooms. The window prints can contain images of a funny face of a sun, animal, cartoon character, fish, or snowman. Parents can replace the window clings more often because these kinds of prints can be easily removed. This is because window clings are printed on opaque static cling materials that adhere to glass surfaces.

Convey a Message with Door HangersChildren can also be interested with door hangers. A door hanger on a kid's room can let other family members know the child's message or mood. Door hangers can contain funny and colorful images with these messages: "Do not disturb," "No Entry," or "Don't Bug Me, I'm Reading." Door hangers can also be used for other furniture. Instead of putting on the door knobs, children can use the prints as decorations on their cabinets and drawers. Parents can make creative door hangers for their kids, or order the prints from a printing company.

These are decorative prints ideal for decorating a kid's room. Wall graphics, stickers and other decorative materials can be used to accentuate rooms for kids. Through these kinds of decorations, children will feel good in some ways.

2/12/2012

Do you wish you could spice up the look of your walls? Do you ever feel like you never know what to put on them to cover the space? Many people are in this same boat and are looking for creative ways to decorate and add some life to their homes. They want to find something that adds some flair but is not overly expensive. One great idea to fill these need is the use of vinyl wall stickers.

Vinyl is great because it can be placed on almost any surface and is easy to place and also easy to take off. It is not like wallpaper where you will have to do an extensive amount of work to get it off when you want it replaced, but can easily be taken down without any left over residue.

These stickers also come in all different shapes, sizes, and pictures. They are extremely customizable and many vinyl shops will actually allow you to create your own images or wording and then print it out for you to be able to use. This gives you a lot of creative control so that you don't have to settle for artwork you don't necessarily like because that is all they had available.

The other great thing about vinyl stickers it that they are cheap. Depending on the size of the image, it is going to cost more but all in all it is much cheaper than going out and buying large pieces of artwork. So if you are in the market for inexpensive, classy creations then do your research on these fun little stickers.

2/07/2012

The self-adhesive vinyl wall sticker or decal has been around for a while now, it combines practicality and low cost with huge impact and lots of style. Applied in minutes they will last for years and if one tires of a design then one simply peels off and discards. Designed principally with painted walls in mind the enormous range of designs colours and sizes mean there's always a sticker somewhere that's for you.

Something you may not have realised is that wall stickers will work anywhere they can stick! Inside, outside (they are made from the same material that Waitrose decorate their delivery vans with) up, down and all around; if it's smooth they'll stick. And they'll stay, because most stickers are made from UV resistant vinyl and will keep their colour even in direct sunlight for five years.

With this in mind it's worth suggesting a few decorating options you may not have considered. Because stickers are the same on both sides they will work on windows and patio doors; obviously a nature based design would work, a tree branch, a flock of birds etc.. but what about something crazy like a fireplace! A good idea would be to pick something consisting of a collection of small items or thin flowing lines so not too much light is blocked. Stickers on patio doors have the added benefit of helping people to not walk into them.

Another great place to put perhaps smaller designs is on mirrors, a flowing flowery design can make a simple mirror look very sophisticated and stylish, or if you have a very large bathroom mirror how about an enormous pair of eyes watching you!

A wall stickers adhesive, whilst strong is also quite gentle and leaves no residue so they can be applied to furniture without fear of damaging its finish if you change your mind. We're always being told we can jazz up our kitchen with new cupboard doors as if that costs a fiver and takes ten minutes to order and fit but how about some stickers instead? There are many architectural designs available that would be suitable for just such a setting and one large design could easily be cut into pieces to cover several doors. Once again it will look very stylish and won't break the bank.

So there you have it, the wonderful world of vinyl stickers. If you can think it you can stick it.

2/01/2012

When it comes to home decorating, we always thought that it is expensive. Nonetheless, all homeowners and even those who are just renting still have the chance to perform that task in an easy manner. In addition, anyone who will complete that project will feel satisfied and happy seeing his work in a distance that looks so attractive. The tradition of calling an expert to paint or put wallpapers to your wall is not necessary now. The easiest technique that you can use to effortlessly accomplish your decorating project is through using wall decals. These products will help make your house comfortable to stay.

In case you are planning to redecorate your house but you have limited spending budget, then wall decals are a great help for you. With these, you will now be able to make your house an ideal home to live in without going over your budget. As what you have known, applying wall stickers is hassle-free. All you have to do is to do just 3 simple steps and you are done although other wall decals have different instructions depending on the place. Once you have noticed that a certain sticker is not fitted to be stick to a certain angle, and then you do not have to worry because you can simply remove it from the wall where it was stuck and reposition to the place where you want it to be. To successfully do that, you have to follow these 3 steps.

First, remove the sticker from the adhesive liner. Second, spot the location where you want the decal to be stuck. Lastly, you simply stick it on. It is as simple as that and you are done decorating a part your wall. In case you are thinking to have larger decals, it would be better to ask the assistance of another person. Moreover, make it sure that the wall surface is clean and smooth before sticking it. To be sure, clean the wall first because the decal will not stick if the wall is cracked and dirty or greasy.

Always opt to add life to your walls to enliven your house and to give additional energy to your family due to the good aura in your home. Have fun in doing a personal decorating task to show your own style. Form a design that will please you and puts happiness to your heart.

I love to try different food and am a shopaholic that enjoys reading novels and writing. Time spent having fascinating discussions with others while dining on great meals is a fulfilling activity to my everyday well being. Since I am a foodie, the kitchen is my paradise and has been adorned with wall decals.